During the handling of containers, particularly of bottles, such as in processing lines in which bottles are filled, sealed, monitored for the level of filling or tightness, as the case may be, or are labeled, for example, situations repeatedly occur in which it is desirable to allow a certain waiting time, either in order to wait for the reduction of an excessive foam formation, or to be able to exert a pressure on the flexible containers between the initial and the final measurement, such as during a tightness test, for example, for long enough for the testing devices to be able to identify a possible lack of tightness, etc. In predominantly automated process lines, however, an orderly transport should be maintained in order to optimize the passage time. On the other hand, the conveying-and processing devices for the containers should be constructed as compactly as possible, in order to save set-up space and construction place, as the case may be.